And This Is Where We Start
by Kyoshi7989
Summary: AU Kataang. Katara, a super human hybrid, gets her first taste of freedom when she escapes after 15 years imprisoned in a research institute. But she didn’t count on Aang, a fellow escapee, popping into the picture and giving her life an unexpected twist.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **And This Is Where We Start

**Pairing(s):** Kataang, implied Tokka and Maiko

**Warning(s):** Innuendo, Violence, Language, Cruelty

**Summary: **AU. Kataang. Katara, a hybrid born a test subject, gets her first taste of freedom when she escapes after 15 years imprisoned. But she didn't count on Aang, a fellow escapee, popping into the picture and giving her life an unexpected twist.

**A/N: **Well! My second science-fiction type Kataang fic...I'm proud. I just want to clarify the term for "hybrid" first, as you'll see it a lot in this fic: a human, typically born into a science and research institution, that has altered DNA or "super-human" physical traits. And also...Although I originally didn't mean to, Maximum Ride (written by James Patterson) somehow wormed its way into my head. It's slightly based of his series, but the plot will be, I promise you, COMPLETELY different.

Remember that Katara has never been outside the Institute before this. She's not going to know everything. I also apologize for any inconsistency in Aang or Katara's character; if you find any glaring OOCness, please point it out so I can edit it. I think that's all...so please, enjoy the story!

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She had escaped.

She had _escaped_.

She _had_ escaped.

_She_ had escaped.

It sounded so impossible, so foreign to her ears, that Katara almost stopped running because of it.

She'd been born and raised a test subject; treated like a freak of nature by the very people that had created her. She'd been spat upon and ridiculed and poked with needles and injected with chemicals until it made her squirm and cry out in pain.

And now, finally, it was all behind her.

Katara slowed to an evenly paced jog, gazing around at the littered street and smoggy air. However unpleasant it was to her eyes, it was the first time she'd ever been out of the Institute, or gotten a good breath of fresh air at that.

The Institute was, in the smallest sense of the word, her home. She had been born and raised there as one of the hybrids designed for only one purpose: war.

Three decades ago, a group of scientists under Lord Ozai's command had dedicated themselves to designing humans able to withstand any injury that would kill or fatally harm a normal human, as well as travel into enemy camps located in normally unreachable places. As far as Katara knew, the first successful experiments had only been engineered a decade and a half ago, herself being among them.

She'd grown up in a prison, fraternizing with other hybrids and being regularly tested on her Powers. Some of the others had developed unique mutations of their own, even stranger than the ones granted to them by the Institute. They, by far, suffered the worst fate.

Katara shuddered, remembering seeing so many of the 'special ones' dragged away to be tested and cut apart without mercy. So much of her childhood had been lived in fear; fear of someone catching her with her Power.

Her Power, her very own Power. It still startled her sometimes, even thinking of it. She'd been careful to suppress it, even when giving into the temptation of revealing her hidden strength was only a hair's breadth away.

Katara had been born into a group of hybrids designed especially for survival in underwater environments. They'd been forced to swim until they were at Olympic level, higher even; those who failed were quickly disposed of, as, at the Institute, those who could not serve their Purpose were deemed worthless.

Every so often, they would injure some of the hybrids to test their cellular regeneration and endurance. Katara had never feared death when faced with one of these tests, but there was one major drawback to her so-called invincibility: the pain in itself remained. In fact, she had found throughout the years that re-growing the damaged parts hurt far more than sustaining the injury.

Her body was not the ultimate weapon, far from it; they'd only designed the underwater-breathers with espionage and escaping dangerous situations in mind. Though if Katara _had_ ever been dispatched to enemy territory, she would have joined the opposition if only to spite the people that had raised her with such indifference.

However, the Institute had provided her; through the food they gave them to maintain their strength and the constant checkups, with one crucial thing: the strength to escape.

And now, she was outside, in the world, in the city, as a free woman, a free person, and belonging completely to herself.

Katara inhaled deeply, enjoying each new breath. She could hardly believe that she was here, outside, free to choose what she wanted to do today or tomorrow or right now. It was a wonderful feeling, Katara decided, freedom. She was free of the Institute, of those horrible scientists that had tortured her so, of everything that had once depraved her of happiness completely and utterly—

"Hey, watch where you're going!" As she collided with another human form, Katara's hands jerked out reflexively to catch herself as she went tumbling to the ground. Taking breaths in deep gasps, she looked up to see a glowering young man standing over her, his shaggy hair falling across his face.

"I'm sorry," she said shakily, unsteadily rising to her feet. Katara cringed in the face of his menacing glare, all too reminiscent of the Institute's twisted researchers.

"You're gonna be when I'm through with you," he snarled, a malicious smirk flickering across his face. Reaching into the back pocket of his threadbare jeans, he withdrew a short, but obviously sharp, knife. Katara dimly wondered why no one bothered to help, and then quickly realized that, since she had collided with him, all other people once scurrying through the streets had vanished.

She redirected her focus on the young man as he advanced toward her, sneering, "Time to say goodnight, little girl."

As he lunged at her with the knife, Katara quickly ducked under his haphazard swing, silently cursing her lack of foresight at forgetting to bring anything but her fists as a weapon. She knew basic hand-to-hand combat, yes, but knives were so old-fashioned and hard to come by nowadays that no one had bothered to mention it (not that they would have cared if she'd gotten killed; Katara's hybrid type was easily mass-produced), and guns would have been a waste of time, as their bodies were designed, after all, to handle just that sort of fatal injury.

Unfortunately, she didn't think anyone—hybrid or no—could take a knife to the throat and walk away alive.

The man snarled as she evaded the knife's bladed edge, but darted at her once more. Katara crouched down, anticipating another swing. However, instead of coming at her with the dagger once again, he quickly pinned her to the hard asphalt ground, cracks weaving through the blacktop like a spider's web.

Her attacker's hot breath blew against her ear, and Katara shuddered, struggling to get away. She felt herself grow frantic with helplessness. There was no way to get out of this mess. Katara was going to die just as she had escaped her life-long prison and got the first blissful taste of freedom.

Closing her eyes, Katara prepared for the first stinging blow, still wondering how she had been so careless, and why the citizens of the City were so easily provoked.

Katara quickly decided that she'd never find out.

It seemed that one moment, she was grimly awaiting her death by this lunatic stranger; and the next his body was limp on top of her.

Katara blinked as her assailant was quickly dragged off and shoved against the wall of a run-down factory.

Still trying to grasp a hold on what had happened, Katara started as a distinctly male voice calmly asked, "You won't do that again, will you?" Her attacker let out a whimper in reply, and was dropped to the ground with a dull thud, followed by weak scuffling, and then rapid footsteps that quickly faded into silence.

Her first impulse was fear. Her aggressor could not have been that weak; in fact, he had held her down without a struggle and obviously had muscles. What if this new arrival came after her next?

Katara's next impulse was gratitude. The newcomer had saved her from almost certain death; she should be grateful.

Standing up, Katara cast her eyes about for her savior.

To her surprise, she found him to be a young boy, perhaps a few years juvenile to her. He was clothed in a threadbare yellow sweatshirt, and wore baggy red pants, the loose folds of fabric tucked into black and bulky combat boots. His hair was a messy black mop, and his cheeks were rosy red from the cold, in contrast with the solemnity of his facial expression.

He studied her seriously for a moment, before reaching out a hand to help her up. Katara hesitantly accepted, and rose up beside him with a slight sway. It had been a nerve-wracking and terrifying experience, even for her—although many experimental operations on hybrids proved fatal, Katara had somehow believed the threat of death to be less prominent in the outside world.

Now, she cursed her foolishness.

Examining the young boy before her curiously, Katara finally said, "I'm Katara. Thank you for saving me."

There was a long and awkward pause, but apparently one-sided, for her rescuer seemed comfortable with it and merely continued scrutinizing her carefully. At last, he replied, his voice much friendlier then she had imagined, "I'm Aang. Nice to meet you. You should be more careful out here." He loosely indicated the direction in which her assailant had run off. "The city's crawling with trash like him—some of them even worse."

Aang paused. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to make him so mad?"

Katara ducked her head, embarrassed, but quickly harnessed her mortification and replied coolly, "I ran into him. I wasn't looking where I was going, so…" she shrugged, suddenly feeling far more comfortable with Aang then she felt she should.  
"He wasn't very nice about it," Katara admitted, laughing despite herself.

"I'll say," Aang agreed, giving her an amused smile.

"So…" Katara cleared her throat. "Where do you, err, come from?" It was common, now, that humans—although they could hardly be titled such anymore—were often hybrids, or victims of wayward government branches conducting their own freak experiments. Plastic surgery was capable of hiding the outermost abnormalities, but they had instructed more than once at the conduct classes at the Institute that you never knew just what you were dealing with.

Aang bit his lip. At last he admitted, "I'm an escapee, from—well, they called it the Institute." He gave an unconvincing laugh. "Lame name, huh? It's, um, well…" A sigh. "I'm a hybrid."

Katara stared at him, dumbfounded yet delighted. "So am I! So, what are you? I've heard of super-strengths and fire-walkers, oh, and underwater-breathers, of course, but what are you?"

To her surprise, Aang stared at her for a long moment before dropping his gaze to the ground. "You won't have heard of me."

"Try me," Katara found herself saying.

He looked at her for a long moment. "I won't tell you everything, but I was part of a special branch of the Institute. I'd rather not talk about the current state of my genes."

Suddenly ashamed, Katara nodded, face burning. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No." Aang shook his head. "You didn't know. For all you knew, I could have been just another hybrid. But as it is…" he hesitated, and to Katara's surprised, looked slightly guilty. "I don't know what would happen if anyone else found out. That's all."

Katara quickly nodded. "I understand. I never thought that it would be dangerous to tell anyone, that's all."

Aang's lips quirked into a smile. "So is this your first day outside the Institute or what?"

Gaping, Katara sputtered, "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't that hard to tell. First you get in trouble with that guy, and now you don't even know how dangerous life as an escapee can be. It's pretty obvious, actually."

Katara's faced burned. Only now did she realize how unprepared she'd been, and how little the Institute had actually taught her about society. Sure, they'd learned the official statistics, and hybrid experiments, and the tolerances their body could handle, but nothing had been said about the ordinary dangers of everyday life as a hybrid.

Aang seemed to notice her discomfort, and quickly pointed out, "You didn't know. I didn't either, at first." An expression of troubled remembrance flickered across Aang's face like a dark shadow. "I'm just glad you didn't have to learn the hard way, like I did."

Katara sucked in her breath. "Right." She paused, uncertain. "I guess I'll be going now." Slowly, she turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Katara glanced back to see Aang staring out her, desperate hope written across his face. "Stay with me!"

It was a moment of blank disbelief; and then slow, slow elation. Suddenly, the doubts set in. What if Aang was a government agent? What if he was going to turn her in? It all depended on whether Katara could bring herself to trust him or not.

In a split-second, she had made her decision.

"Yes."

**

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"It's not much," Aang explained as he yanked open a battered door to reveal a bare, if roomy, apartment. Grey sunlight filtered in through a window, tattered curtains revealing smog wafting up from the factories of the city. A rumpled sleeping bag lay in one corner, and a beaten up folding table occupied the space by the window. The only other objects in the room were the stacks of manga books, stacked in neat piles in the immediate right-hand corner of the room.

"It's…different," Katara commented carefully, brow furrowed. She'd seen pictures of houses and apartments before, true, but a photograph was different from actually _being_ there. Somehow, it felt homier then she'd expected, although Katara was not quite sure how she could even identify the feeling, as the Institute had been anything but.

"You'll get used to it. It took me a while as well." Aang glanced around the apartment before beginning hesitantly, "I have a few blankets in the closet, until we can get you a sleeping bag. Heat was cut off about a year ago, so I don't really go into the kitchen or anything, but if you want privacy…" He gave her a weak smile. "Feel free to sleep in there."  
"Um, there's a bathroom…isn't there?" Katara asked, cheeks on fire.

Aang laughed, and the uncomfortable feeling in the atmosphere disappeared. "Yep. They haven't taken away plumbing…yet," he added, almost as an afterthought. Only then did Katara realize that, out here, it truly was a possibility.

"The Institute must have a lot of funding, then," she realized. "They never ran out of _anything_."

Aang shrugged, and sat gracefully down on the ground, crossing his legs Indian style. "The Institutes part of the government. They have all the funding they need."

"The government doesn't seem to take very good care of its citizens, then," Katara commented, joining Aang on the floor.

He gazed at her. "It doesn't. After World War III ended, so-called 'research associations' started popping up everywhere. People were just kidnapped right off the streets and experimented on at first, but after they got a hold of embryos and the like, they could perform tests before the babies were even born." Aang sounded bitter. "The first successful born-hybrid experiment didn't come for another seven years, and it took another five before they could duplicate the procedure that many time and mass produce them. Then, when the invasion began, all of the military force they'd been building up over the years—hybrids, like us—were suddenly useful. The government started buying into private stashes and dispatching them to the front…it was chaos. All of the researching facilities were raking in the cash, and everyone else was panicking because of the war."

Pausing, Aang glanced at her. "You follow?"

Katara nodded, a lump worming its way into her throat. Finally, she was going to find out where she came from…how the whole thing started. _Finally_. "Go on," she managed, trying to keep the desperation to learn, to _know_, out of her voice.

For a moment he simply looked at her. Then, at last, Aang continued, "They didn't start sending anyone from the Institute until about ten years ago. Apparently, the private associations' numbers were wearing out. Now, hybrids are dispatched daily from just about anywhere—private or government owned—and don't come back. Ozai is advancing, they're running out of soldiers—pre-made or swept off the streets—and things are taking a turn for the worse. Right now, it's pretty amazing that even the Institute has as many resources as you say it does…and it's incredible luck that you're unit wasn't sent to the front before you escaped."

Katara gazed at him, troubled. "Really? Not many of the underwater-breathers in my…err…unit…were ever dispatched. Not that I know of."

Aang frowned and shifted uneasily. "Strange. It's possible that your unit was meant for espionage..." When Katara merely looked unsettled, he quickly amended, "It's just that underwater-breathers would have been useful for crossing the River undetected. That's all."

She nodded uncertainly. "Yeah. That makes sense." Katara felt her confidence grow. "They did teach us more about society and the City then they did the super-strengths and fire-walkers. I remember, from the times we met them, how they were so amazed at how much we knew about the outside world."

Aang nodded slowly. "Now I understand. They were training you. Making sure you could handle everything." He grinned, and Katara stared at him, surprised at his sudden change of expression. "Good thing you escaped when you did, or I may never have met you."

To her dismay, Katara found herself blushing. "I'm glad I did," she replied.

Aang smiled at her, simply gazing at her for a long moment, her heart beating faster and faster for a reason she couldn't name. At last, he rose from the floor. "I'll go out and try to find you a sleeping bag."

He left, and the door closed with a dull 'click.'

Katara thought about what she had learned. She now knew her past—not just _her_ past, but the past of her entire race.

Katara was proud to say that Aang had told her more about what she was then the Institute had ever managed to cram into her brain.

But what was he?

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Hope the last sentence fit alright...Toph and Sokka are gonne come in somewhere in the next few chappies, so be looking out for that. Please please please please please give me feedback--tell me what you think! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **And This Is Where We Start

**Pairing(s):** Kataang, implied Tokka and Maiko

**Warning(s):** Innuendo, Violence, Language, Cruelty

**Summary: **AU Kataang. Katara, a super human hybrid, gets her first taste of freedom when she escapes after 15 years imprisoned in a research institute. But she didn't count on Aang, a fellow escapee, popping into the picture and giving her life an unexpected twist.

**A/N:** Not much action in this chapter, but never fear--next chappie is violence and fighting galore! That being said...on with the show!

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"It sure is quiet in here, without Aang."

Katara paused to hear her voice echo around the apartment, before adding softly, "I'm a bit lonely. I've never really been…_alone_ before."

Subdued, she gazed at the floor and forced a laugh. "I must really be strange, huh? Talking to myself in here. There isn't anyone to hear me, is there? I wonder…what would it have been like if I hadn't been a hybrid? Would I have been—different?"

Katara waited for a moment, biting her lip. "Why do I expect an answer? Why do I expect anything to change? Why do I expect Aang to be some sort of wonderful awesome, amazing friend? Why did I—" she fought back the tears prickling at her eyes "—why did I leave everyone else behind?"

_Because they wouldn't have done the same for you_, the practical side of Katara's mind answered immediately. _Because if you were going to escape, the only chance you had was alone._

_Because, in the end, you didn't care about them anyway._

_Because you still haven't forgotten what happened to Yue._

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Katara rebelled against the urge to scream. She hated the fact that the inner-voice deep inside her would speak up when she least expected, sowing the seeds of confusion in her mind. Her hands clenched as she bowed her head, tears prickling at the back of her eyes and desperately fighting the urge to simply _break_, right then and there.

Why now? Why _now_, of all times, bring up the white-haired hybrid that she'd grown up with? It had been the first escape attempt ever made, and one that completely and utterly failed: Yue had perished along with the group of underwater-breathers brave enough to accompany her.

And then there was Katara. Katara, the little girl with the naïve stare and the thumb always in her mouth. Katara, the annoying six-year old that practically worshipped the oldest among them, Yue. Katara, the hopeful-eyed hybrid that wouldn't gain her immense sense of courage until the opportunity was gone; Katara that chickened out at the last minute—

No. Katara refused to go on any longer. Remembering Yue was something she reserved for the anniversary of her friends death alone. Back at the Institute, there had been no time reserved for what the scientists referred to as such unnecessary things. Grieving was something she'd been forced to do within the safety of her mind, and if Katara hadn't chosen one specific date to commemorate Yue's death, it would have dominated her every thought and, after a time, consumed her.

Rising up restlessly, every second waiting for Aang to return seemed agonizing. After a moment of heated pacing, Katara stopped abruptly and sighed. It wouldn't do her any good to spend the afternoon simply striding around the room in circles.

No, it was time to explore the apartment.

Curiously, Katara hesitantly took a few steps toward the door that she guessed led to the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. Tentatively reaching forward, she grasped the cold metal doorknob tightly. Slowly, painstakingly, she opened the door.

Katara let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Somehow, she'd expected something more; something besides this empty hall, and the doors branching out from it. It was almost a relief to know that her irrational fear had been proved wrong.

Taking a few steps forward, Katara ran her eyes over the corridor briefly. The parallel walls were a simply faded white, peeling in some places. One door lay at the end of the hall, while the other two were positioned on the right hand side.

Throwing open the first door on her right, Katara discovered it to be a bathroom, with a linen closet and a half bath. Grimacing at the thought of bathing in ice-cold water, Katara moved on to the next room.

Another closet, it was stocked with a few wool blankets, threads splitting of the ends.

Katara moved on to the last door. She paused with her hand above the doorknob. What if this was Aang's room? What if she was trespassing?

What if, by entering this place, she was betraying his trust?

_No_. Despite her uncertainty, Katara refused to comply. _I may not get another chance. How do I know that this room isn't some hiding place for dead bodies?_

Well, Katara realized with a grimace, she really didn't, but somehow she hadn't gotten the impression that Aang was the murdering type.

Turning the knob, Katara stepped into the room and promptly felt like smacking herself on the forehead. It looked to have once been a living room/kitchen, by the lonesome faded chair in one corner and the stove, sink, beaten-up fridge, and dishwasher in the other.

Katara walked farther into the room, glancing around. A window above the cluttered sink filtered dirty sunlight, falling in patches onto the counter. The stove was occupied by a pot resting on the back burner and a frying pan—complete with splatters of pancake batter that hadn't been washed off—rested on the front. And held up by magnets on the refrigerator—

On the refrigerator were photos.

Katara sucked in her breath, and despite her desperate longing to leave it alone; to leave Aang's personal private life _alone_, her eyes were drawn to the pictures, as if being guided by some invisible puppet string.

Almost in a dream, Katara slowly glided over, the world spinning around her as she ran her fingers over the photographs, her hands resting on their faces.

_Who's this?_ She asked herself numbly, subconsciously, as she stared at a pale face outlined by black bangs. A light green shirt covered scrawny shoulders, but her skinny build was countered by her friendly, if smug, smile. Katara moved swiftly, allowing no time for contemplation.

She moved to the next picture. A scowling boy, a scar stretching across his face, shoved Aang away desperately as a much younger version of the solemn boy she knew tried to stick a clown nose on his face, his mouth open in laughter. Katara gazed at the scarred stranger longer, and noticed a glimmer of affection in his eyes, the way she picture an elder sibling would look at a younger sister or brother.

It became routine for her. Next picture. A brown haired young man smiled wistfully at the camera, displaying a collection of colorful rocks in his hands.

Frowning as she came to the subsequent photograph, Katara stared at the tan face and ponytail tied at the back. _What?_ She'd assumed that these were all of Aang's friends _after_ he'd left the Institute—and, from the lack of the tattoos given to identify and make finding individuals easy, non-hybrid— but she could barely discern a striped black-and-white pattern on his lower shoulder, nearly blending in with the skin, but not quite. _Oh my god_, Katara thought distantly, _There are more, there are more more more more more_—

She stumbled away from the fridge, dizzy. Head in hands, Katara blinked frantically, trying to get a hold of herself. More escapees? Besides Aang and herself? Impossible, impossible, impossible—

No, Katara had seen it herself, the edge of that black-and-white tattoo, contrasting with his dark skin. With an air of urgency she'd never known before, Katara's eyes uncannily flickered back and forth from picture to picture, pinning down a piece of evidence one after the other—a scar that lingered, and could only be placed, by one of the Institute's special and precise surgical tools, marring the long-haired boy's left cheek; the look of sorrowful reminiscence in each of their eyes; a missed tattoo on the raven-haired girl's barely exposed shoulder; and there, there, in the background while Aang and scar-boy laughed, the very same girl lifting up a heavy, impossible chair that no mere human should have been able to—

It was settled. All of them. They were _all_ hybrids.

There had been attempts. Before. Before her. Maybe even before Yue. The Institute had kept them quiet, hushed up—but all the same, they were there, behind the scenes; little faults and blemishes that nobody wanted to look at or even acknowledge.

Escapees.

Katara hazily realized that she was huddled on the ground, knees to her chest and clutching her head in her hands. It was so much of a shock. It shouldn't have been—she should have realized that if Aang and herself could get out, there were others, too—but it was, nevertheless.

Where were the other hybrids now? Recaptured and imprisoned—or, dare she say it, destroyed—by the Institute? Or, perhaps, simply living in a different section of the city, and no longer in touch with their oldest friend?

Katara was just beginning to realize that she should leave; get out of here before Aang found her, when it was already too late.

"What are you doing in here?" His voice was a mixture of anger, hurt, and above all, a chilling coldness as Katara spun around to face him, eyes wide.

"I—I—I—" she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I wanted to see the apartment. I found the pictures—the photos—there are—there are—" Katara desperately attempted to sooth her agitated nerves. "There are others?" she said at last.

Aang's expression turned sad and distant, all traces of anger evaporating. "Why'd you have to find those, Katara?" he asked, without any real conviction.

"But—there are—there are—" she stammered, staring at him.

Aang sighed. "Yes, there are other escapees. Like you. Like me." He sat down on the ground. "I knew I'd have to explain it one day to you, but the first day you got here? Man, Katara, you work fast." Aang gave her a weak smile, to show he was joking, but it did nothing to help Katara's nervousness.

"I'll tell you. There were—are—other hybrids that escaped the Institute, that living hell," Aang began bitterly. "You here about hybrids with special mutations suffering horrible, twisted operations all the time, but for some reason—some higher-up that thought we'd be interesting to watch; to see how we developed, maybe—we were given our own small unit and placed together. Two of them are still around, living on the other side of the city—together, maybe, I dunno. They didn't want to be around anybody after…what happened." He swallowed. "One of them? The scarred boy? He's a traitor." Aang's expression darkened. "Two of them are living in North Side--maybe with each other, I don't know. As for the last?" There was a pause. "He's dead."

Flinching at his angry and sorrowful expression, Katara asked timidly, "Can you tell me about—the traitor?"

Aang nodded before launching right into his explanation. "Zuko was different—they said his mother came to them when she was pregnant; asked them to make him a hybrid—and so they did. His father—well, at first they didn't know him, and the researchers didn't care, y'know? But Zuko did. He wanted to know. He—the Institute—they did DNA tests. Zuko, as it turned out, was Ozai's son."

Katara paled. "Ozai's son? But how—"

"No." Aang waved his arms for her to stop. "I'll explain in a minute." He cleared his throat. "We were at the Institute, and one of a kind. Zuko was a fire-walker, true, but he could do other stuff. He could—" Aang's calm, if sad; expression flickered briefly before reverting to normal. "—control it. Sokka—" A smile that sent tingles up Katara's spine. _I want him to talk about me, and smile like that. _"Sokka was a failure, in the least sense of the word. He was supposed to be an underwater breather, but instead gained the ability to..." he wrinkled his nose, and Katara laughed despite herself. "It's hard to explain, but it was like once he saw a person or an object or anything like that, he could find it no matter what. It was..." Aang paused, searching for the right word. "Wierd. I guess it kinda went beyond the realm of science, in a way."

Aang coughed. "You follow?" Katara nodded, and he continued, "Toph was a super-strength, but blind. She had some sort of ultra-developed hearing, I guess…but it went beyond that. Toph could sense all the vibrations, even the ones made when you touch your pinky finger to the ground. Made up for her lack of sight pretty well. Haru was your average super-strength. I don't know how he got involved with us, err, _special_ hybrids, but either way, he was there." Once again, Aang cleared his throat. "Me? I was supposed to be—" he winced. "The 'Ultimate Hybrid.' A combination of all hybrids. Except it ended up having a few mutations they didn't foresee."

Aang held up a finger. "One. They wanted an apathetic machine without a conscience." He smiled wryly. "They got me. Two." Aang added a second finger to the first. "I don't have the same physical endurance most, if not all, hybrids do. I was weak. The added and unfamiliar genes put such a strain on my body that my immune system was left unguarded. I must have spent a good third of my time at the Institute in bed, sick."

Aang dropped his hand, cocking his head at Katara's confused, yet somehow understanding, expression. "Third? There's a fourth group of mainstream hybrids that they kept secret. The fliers. Not wings, as you would expect, but their immensely strong leg muscles—combined with lightweight bones—allowed them to jump high. Higher, Katara, then you could ever imagine." Katara felt a chill trickle down her spine as his eyes grimly met hers. "There was a…mistake. Ever single flier was sent to the battlefront, by order of some war-crazy general. All of them died…with a sole exception. I am—"

"The last flier," Katara finished, eyes wide.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm the last one." After a brief pause, Aang continued, "I grew up with Toph, Sokka, and Zuko by my side. Zuko was the oldest—then Sokka—then me and Toph. We were all so happy…like a big family." Grim remembrance crept across Aang's face. "When Zuko was scarred during a test gone wrong, we decided to escape. It wasn't that hard. Toph kept watch for anyone that would try to stop us, Haru ripped through walls, when we needed him to, Sokka took all the blows when someone _did_ find us, I got past the security system, wonder that it was—apparently, they hadn't panned for a flier _and_ fire-walker combined—and Zuko scared everyone away."

Katara opened her mouth to comment, despite herself, _Did any of you know a girl named Yue?_ But Aang objected, "Just let me finish, alright. Then questions."

Katara shut her mouth and nodded.

"Once we escaped," Aang continued, smiling slightly, "Everything changed. With our combined…talents, we were able to get an apartment building. We were all pretty young, but it seemed like paradise, living on our own with no one to order us around. Those were the golden years—they lasted about two, maybe three—and where those photographs come from," he added, loosely indicating the fridge.

Aang's face morphed into a mask of grief and resentment. "I don't know when, exactly, Zuko got in touch with his father. Either way, he betrayed us—delivered information to the Invaders, and eventually led some of their spies right to our doorstep. Smiling bitterly, Aang went on, "We kept fighting, on and on and on. But when Haru was killed…we lost control and simply slaughtered them all. Sometimes, I wonder if that makes us as bad as them," Aang added softly, closing his eyes briefly.

Opening them again, he continued, "It was pretty obvious that Zuko had betrayed us when he ran off after we won. It was horrible. Our 'little family' was so broken up over Haru's death and Zuko's betrayal…Sokka and Toph ran off to North Side, and left me here. Since then, it's been, I dunno, a year? Two?" Aang paused, a look of amused awe on his face replacing the harsh expression of only a moment before. "Wow…I'm thirteen now! And that means that Zuko eighteen….and Sokka just had his sixteenth birthday!"

Katara watched, amused, as Aang's eyes widened in genuine surprise. He shook his head, murmuring so that she had to strain to hear him, "It's been longer than I thought."

She nodded sympathetically, then hesitated. "Um...Aang?"  
He looked up at her. "What?"  
Katara fiddled with the zipper of her sleek white jumpsuit, now the fashion in research institutes and the City alike, making a note to purchase new clothes, similar to Aang's, as soon as possible. "Did you know a girl named Yue?"

Surprise flickered across Aang's face. After a moment, he answered quietly, "No. No, as a matter of fact, I didn't."

There was an awkward silence as Aang stared at the ground and Katara shifted nervously, winding a loose lock of hair around her finger.

To Katara's relief, however, the discomfited quiet was dispelled by a loud bang on the living room door. Aang scrambled up and immediately delved into the pocket of his sweatshirt, withdrawing a high-tech gun—Katara shivered as she realized that she hadn't had the slightest inkling it was there.

Turning to her, he swallowed, and seemed to make an effort to get a hold of himself. "Look, Katara, if I don't come back—"

"No!" Katara leapt up and glared at him. "I am coming with you, is that clear? I am _not_ going to hide in a closet while you run off and get yourself killed, understand?"

Aang's mouth worked up and down soundlessly. At last, he said quietly, "All right, Katara. I trust you." With that, he began cautiously advancing down the hall that adjoined to the main room.

Katara followed him, oddly flushed. Pressing his back against the wall and sneaking a glance around the corner, Aang whispered to her, "I'm gonna answer that door." He pressed the gun into her hand, and Katara's eyes widened. "Shush," he admonished, putting his finger to her lips as she began to protest. "Don't use it unless they're going to attack you, okay? And…" Aang hesitated, and glanced at her guiltily. "You don't have to kill them. If you don't want to."

Katara nodded in reply, and said around the lump in her throat, "I'm ready."

Slowly, Aang ventured around the corner and traipsed to the door. His hand closed around the doorknob just as a last frustrated bang resounded against the door, and he winced.

Throwing open the door, Aang darted back, only to freeze. Katara stared at him, wondering frantically, _What is it? What _is _it?_

At last, she could take it no longer. Abandoning her position pressed against the wall, Katara sprinted into the room, and glared at the boy and girl occupying the doorway, only to realize with a jolt, _I know them…_

"Toph? Sokka?" Aang choked out. Katara noted with a stab of anger and pity that tears were running down his cheeks, burning clean streaks into the dirty skin. "Why are you here?"  
Sokka stepped forward gravely, observing Aang carefully. Glancing at Katara, he drew back, surprised.

Toph joined him a few feet into the threshold as Katara tried to digest the mind-numbing information. But it wasn't over yet.

Jaw set hard, Toph's milky white eyes stared blankly ahead as she spoke.

"It's Ozai. He's found us."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, just so you know--Toph doesn't mean literlly 'Ozai just showed up on our doorstep.' She means something along the lines of 'Ozai's agents have infiltrated the city and discovered our location, as well as attempting to shadow/capture/kill us.' Also, when Katara said that she was part of the first batch of hybrids, she's implying the she's an 'older model' more than anything else. Not first-first (that would be Yue). And as for Zuko's age compared to everyone else's--firewalkers came out a little before underwater-breathers. I'm sure there are more continuity errors, but that's all for now. Please, tell me what you thought! 


End file.
